VM Brasseur

Biography

VM is a manager of technical people, projects, processes, products and p^Hbusinesses. In her almost 15 years in the tech industry she has been an analyst, programmer, product manager, software engineering manager and director of software engineering. Currently she is splitting her time between shoeless consulting—a tech recruiting and management consulting firm—and writing a book translating business concepts into geek speak.

Open Source Bridge 2014

Sessions for this user

Managing is a skill which you can master just as you did programming. This session will introduce you to many of the skills and resources you’ll need to become a successful tech manager (and keep your team from wanting to string you up).

In this session we will:
* Give you a tour of Internet Archive and its collections
* Introduce you to the APIs and tools you can use to access and contribute to the Archive
* Show examples of how other people and institutions are using the Archive

Open Source Bridge 2013

Sessions for this user

Projects fail. Companies crash and burn. Screws fall out all the time; the world is an imperfect place. Just because it happens doesn’t mean we can’t do our best to prevent it or—at the very least—to minimize the damage when it does. As a matter of fact, embracing failure can be one of the best things you do for your organization.

Proposals for this user

Businesses open and close at an alarming rate, often because the people start them with a vision of a must-have product or service but without much actual business knowledge.
This tutorial is for tech-minded people who have the product vision but no idea where or how to start turning it into a real business. Learn startup logistics from a fellow geek, not from a suit.

Pricing is an issue with which even non-profits need to wrestle. It's a necessity for a healthy, growing business. There is no shame in pricing, nor in understanding its principles and how to do it correctly, respecting everyone's needs and boundaries.

There's no nice way to say it: Job hunting sucks. To succeed you need diligence, strategy and intel on your opponent. Come learn the tech hiring process from the point of view of the person on the other side of the table: the hiring manager.

Open Source Bridge 2012

Sessions for this user

'Programmer' and 'Manager' are two different titles for a reason: they're two different jobs and skill sets. If you have managerial aspirations (or have had them foisted upon you), come to this session to learn some of the tricks of the managerial trade.

Hiring remote workers is great for filling those holes on the team...but if you don't have the correct infrastructure in place you're just setting yourself--and your remote team members--up for a world of hurt. This session will detail how our engineering department went remote and thrived because of it.

Proposals for this user

During this talk I'll discuss many approaches for making it easier for new contributors to join your project. Any project which makes it easier to bring new contributors on board will find its quality and reputation improving by leaps and bounds. You'll find it’s an effort very much worth making.